1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the reduction of the electrical conductivity of the oil and water phases resulting from the conversion of biomass to liquid products, and more particularly to an effective means to at least partially break any oil/water emulsions between the two phases.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conversion of biomass to liquid products, the product stream can contain both an oil phase and a water phase (containing both water present in the biomass prior to conversion, and water produced during the conversion process). Pyrolysis, in particular flash pyrolysis, has been proposed as one such process for converting solid biomass material to liquid products. Pyrolysis in general refers to a process in which a feedstock is heated in an oxygen-poor or oxygen-free atmosphere. If solid biomass is used as the feedstock of a pyrolysis process, the process produces gaseous, liquid, and solid products. It is often the case that a rag layer or “emulsion” is formed between the oil phase and the water phase, or that all or a substantial portion of the oil and water in the liquid product are in the form of an emulsion, which, in either case, can be difficult to break, and results in increased expense in oil and water separation (whether through centrifugation, coalescing filtration, etc).
Thus, there is a need for an improved system whereby the oil and water components are more easily separated.